Automatic elevator-stop controller.



A c. ENDERHN & L. s. NEFF.

AUTOMAUC ELEVATOR STOP CONTROLLER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 19. 1917.

1,287,269. v Patented Dec. 10, 19 18.-

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UNITED STATES P TENT oniuo.

AUGUST 0. ENDERLIN AND LEE s. nnnr, on INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

AUTOMATIC ELEVATOR-STOP CONTROLLER.

Specification of Letters Patent. Pathted Dec, 10, 1918,

Application filed May 19, 1917 Seria1No. 169,675.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, AUGUST C, ENDER- LIN and LEE S. NEFF, citizens of the United States, residing at Indianapolis, in the county of Marion and State of Indiana, have invented a new anduseful Automatic Elevator-Stop Controller, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon.

This invention relates to the type of elevator or lift which is operated by mechanism controlled by means of a vertical shipper cable that is arranged on one side of the elevator car oreXtends throughthe car to be pulled upward or downward by the oper,

ator, the shipper cable being provided with stop blocksor collars in some cases or may be provided with the stop blocksfor securely holding or locking the shipper cable to prevent its being moved, when the .car is stopped, either accidentally or by another person ona different floor of the building in which the elevator is used; the invention having reference more particularly to means for automatically stopping the elevator car at each floor by cooperating with the stop blocks of the'shipper cable.

An object of the invention is to provide an automatic elevator stop controller of simple and inexpensive construction which shall be efficient and rellable in its action to cause the car to be stopped at each floor in order to avoid possible accidents resulting from the operator forgetting or neglecting to move the shipper cable at the proper time, especially in emergency when-it may be necessary to promptly stop the car.

Another object is to provide an automatic elevator stop controller which shall be of such construction as to be devoid of any means for latching or looking the automatic apparatus when manually operated to per;

mit movement ofthe shipper cable, so that I there shall be nothing required to be remembered by the operator excepting to retract the controlling appliance and only when the car is at rest in order to permit the car to be started. A further object is to provide'an appliance of the above-mentioned character which shall be especially adapted to be applied to existing freight elevators, and also be adapted to be manipulated without. re quiring the operator to use his handto're-w tract the controller when it is desired to start the elevator in case the operator isengaged in carrying a load from one floor to another and can use one hand to move the shipper cable. p

A still further objectis toprovide an automatic stop controller of such construction as to be adapted to be readily placed on either one side or the opposite-side of the elevator car as may be required, which shall not be liable to derangement in operation and which shall be durable and economical inuse I p lVith the above-mentioned and other objects in view, the invention consists in a novel housing in which a controlling or stop plate is horizontally movable and provided with a horizontally movable lever for retracting the controlling plate, the apparatus being adapted to be operated in either one position or a relatively invertedv position and having means for-yieldingly projecting the controlling plate to operative position; the invention consisting also further in the novel parts and in the combinations and arrangements, of parts as hereinafter particularly described and further defined in the accompanying claims.

Referring to thedrawings,Figure 1 is a top plan of an elevatorcar partially broken away to which the improved'stop controller is applied; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a novel controlling plate; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional elevation showing one side of the elevator car and the controller thereon;

Fig. i is a top plan of the controller housmg; Fig. 5 is an end elevation of the controller housing; Fig. 6 is a front elevation In the drawings a portion of the freight elevator car sufficient to an understanding of the invention is shown, the numeral 1 indicating the floor of the car, 2 the rear wall or back of the car, and 3 and 4 the two side walls of the car, broken lines on Fig. 1 indicating the approximate relation of the elevator shaft. The shipper cable 5 isvertically arranged adjacent to the outside of the wall 3 of the car, but in some cases as will be understood, may be on the opposite side of the car. Freight elevators in common use usually are equipped with a guide ring that extends about the shipper cable and is supported on a horizontal arm 6 secured to the elevator car, and for the purpose of the present invention the arm is conveniently utilized after removing the ordinary guide ring. When the side walls of the car are not unusually low the wall adj acent to the cable has an aperture 7 therein adjacent to the arm 6 and through which the cable may be reached by the operator.

The controller includes a housing which is composed of two parts adapted to be secured to the opposite vertical sides of the arm 6. The forward part of the housing comprises a bottom plate 8 having side walls 9 and 10 thereon and a top plate 11 fixed upon the walls, the rear part comprising a bottom plate 12 having side walls 13 and 14 thereon and a back wall 15 connected to the side walls and bottom plate, and a top plate 16. The bottom and top plates and the side walls of the two parts are arranged end to end. The bottom plate 8 has a semicircular recess 17 in its joined end and has also a semicircular guide 18 extending about the recess, the plate 12 having a similar oppositely arranged recess and also a guide portion 20.,

The recesses 1'7 and 19 together form a circular guideway in the bottom plate, the guide portions 18 and 20 forming an annular flaring guide. The top plate 11 has a recess 21 and also a guide portion 22, the plate 16 having a recess 23 and a'guide portion 24, the recesses 21 and 23 forming a circular guideway in the sectional top plate, the guide portions 22 and 24 together forming a flaring annular guide. The two parts of the housing permit the shipper cable 5 to be received into the guideways while the cable is in its normal position.

In order to rigidly secure the two parts of the housing together, the guide portions 18 and 20 are provided with ears 25 and 26 respectively adjacent to their joined edges, the ears being integral with the plates 8 and 12 respectively and the ears are secured together by means of a bolt or securing device Guide portions 22 and 2% have similar ears-28 and 29 thereon respectively that are secured together by means of a device 30,

the ears being integral with the top plates 11 and 16. The housing is provided with oppositely arranged horizontal supporting base plates 31 and which are placed on opposite sides respectively of the arm 6 and secured thereto partly by means of a bolt 33 and partly by means of a jaw bolt which has a head 34: arranged on the front of the plate 31 and a bolt 35 extending through the plates 31 and 32 and the arm 6, the bolt having a nut 36 thereon seated on the base plate 32. The head 34 has two jaw plates 37 and 38 to which a pivot 39 is connected. The base plate 31 is integral with the housing plates 8 and 11 and the side wall 9 and also with the guide portions 18 and 22 on the opposite side thereof from the ears 25 and 28 respectively, at a short distance from the joined end of the wall 9. The base plate 32 is integral with the plates 12 and 16 and the guide portions 20 and 2% on the opposite side of the latterfrom the ears 26 and 29 re spectively, at a short distance from the joined ends of the side wall 13. A bracket 40 is cast integral with the wall 9 and the front of the front plate 31 and has an aperture 41 therein to constitute an eye with which a coil spring is connected so that the spring shall extend forward along the outside of the wall 9.

A fiat controlling plate 43 is provided which is slidingly arranged on the bottom plate of the housing and guided by the side walls thereof, the controlling plate having stop shoulders 44 and 15 that normally ongage the fronts of the plates 11 and 8 re spectively, and are provided with aw plates 46 and 47 to which a pivot 18 is connected. The inner end of the controlling plate has side extensions 49 and 50 on the inner side of'which are rounded contact edges 51 and 52 converging to acentral recess 53, the

recess being adapted to receive the cable 5,

the controlling plate thus having a crotch in its inner end. The controlling plate in normal position extends partially across the guideways in the bottom and top plates of the housing, the crotch permitting the passage of the cable through the guideways. A lever 54 is connected to the pivot 39 and has. a handle portion 55 thereon extending from the pivot, the lever extending between the aw plates 46 and 47 and having a longitudinal slot 56 receiving a pivot 4C8. The lever has an aperture 5? between the slot and the pivot 39 in which the spring 42 is connected with the lever. The spring normally draws the lever yieldingly toward the side wall 9 and yieldingly holds the controlling plate 43 in projected position to partially close the guideways in the housing, thelcver being manually operated to retract the controlling plate, but being devoid of means for latching or locking the controlling plate in retracted position, requires the operator to manually hold the controlling plate open or in retracted position, so that when the lever is released the controlling plate is automatically projected to effective posi tion. The position and arrangement 01" the handle portion 55 of the lever is such that the operator may push the handle portion either by hand or by leaning his body against the handle portion to permit the car to be started after having been automatically stopped, or to prevent the car from being stopped at a floor when it is desired to pass on to another floor. The arrangement permits the operator to carry a load on to the elevator with one hand free to manipulate the shipper cable and subsequently carry away his load without losing time depositing it in the elevator while going from one floor to another, as is frequently required of workmen.

As will be understood the shipper cable 5 has a suitable number of stop blocks or collars secured thereto at proper distances apart, one stop block comprising a small end portion 58 and a relatively broader or thicker end portion 59, each companion stop block having a small end portion and a relatively broad end portion 61, the latter being arranged opposite to the broader portion of the opposite stop block, the stop blocks being practically wedge shaped or conical so as to engage the contact edges 51 and 52 of the controlling plate 43 to automatically retract the controlling plate when the car is moving, the broader ends of the stop blocks being adapted to engage the top and bottom respectively of the controlling plate to enable the controller to practically lock the cable to the car.

In practical use the elevator car is supported at a floor while the controlling plate 43 is between the broader ends of the two of the stop blocks, the stop blocks obviously being spaced apart a proper distance to insure the stopping of the car fairly at a floor after one of the stop blocks is engaged by the controlling plate and causes the cable to be moved. When it is desired to operate the car this can be accomplished only by an operator in the car who must push the handle portion 55 of the operating lever toward the side wall of the car or into the aperture 7 and thus retract the controlling plate, after which the shipper cable may be moved in the required direction, the operator intuitively releasing the controlling lever. The car having been started, will be automatically stopped at the next adjacent floor unless it is desired to pass the floor, in which case the controlling plate must be manually retracted and held until the floor is passed. When the car has been automatically stopped at a floor it is automatically locked to the shipper cable, as will be clearly apparent.

Hving thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is- 1. An automatic elevator stop controller including a housing comprising a bottom and a top and two sides, the bottom and the top having each a guideway therein, a controlling plate slidingly supported on the bottom and guided by the sides of the housing, a lever horizontally arranged in connection with the controlling plate and pivoted to the housing, and a spring connected to the lever and the outside of the housing to project the plate partially across the guideways.

2. An elevator stop controller comprising two housing parts, each part having a bot tom plate and a top plate and also two side walls, one of the parts having a back wall, the bottom and top plates and the side walls being arranged end to end to form continuous members, the sectional bottom and top plates having each a circular guideway therein and also a sectional annular flaring guide thereon, the sections of each guide having each an ear on one side thereof that have connection with the acqacent bottom and top plates respectively, securing devices connecting the ears of the guide sections together; and a controlling plate slidingly guided on the bottom plates and between the opposite walls.

3. An automatic elevator stop controller comprising a housing having a guideway therethrough and having a guide-opening transversely of the guideway,two base plates extending in parallel arrangement from one side of the guideway and the guide-opening, the front of the front one of the base plates having an eye thereon, a bolt connected to the two base plates, a jaw-bolt connected also to the two base plates, a controller plate slidingly guided in the guideopening and having a pivot on its outer portion, the inner end portion of the controlling plate having a crotch, the said inner portion normally extending partially across the guideway, an operating-lever pivoted to the jaw-bolt and having a longitudinal slot receiving said pivot, the operating-lever having a handle portion, and a spring connected to the operating lever and to said eye to yieldingly project the controlling plate.

In testimony whereof, we aflix our signatures in presence of two witnessess.

AUGUST C. ENDERLIN. LEE S. NEFF. Witnesses:

OMER S. WHITEMAN E. T. SILVIUS.

Copies 01' this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

